Remote Ischemic Preconditioning Cuts Kidney Injury Risk

(HealthDay News) — Remote ischemic preconditioning can reduce the rate of acute kidney injury among high-risk patients undergoing cardiac surgery, according to a study published online May 29 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was published to coincide with the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association Congress, held from May 28 to 31 in London.

Alexander Zarbock, M.D., from the University Hospital Münster in Germany, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial involving 240 patients at high risk for acute kidney injury who were undergoing cardiac surgery at four hospitals in Germany. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive remote ischemic preconditioning or sham remote ischemic preconditioning (control).